


you got a hold on me and i gotta get free

by chxsdez



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, How Do I Tag, bittersweet i guess, but kinda happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-22 10:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22281217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chxsdez/pseuds/chxsdez
Summary: The Master has a confession and a question.The Doctor has emotions that need let out.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 90





	you got a hold on me and i gotta get free

She stared at him.

He stared at her.

They were caught in a battle, both determined to stay silent or speak first. She searched her mind for the right words to respond to his sudden confession but came up empty again and again. Her fists clenched in frustration.

He opened his mouth.

Her fist closed it.

Hard.

“Jesus Christ!” The Master yelled, staggering back from the force of the blow, clutching his jaw.

The Doctor remained still, her cold glare never wavering.

The Master straightened up again, still massaging his jaw. “Wow, I think you might have broken it.”

“You broke my hearts.”

He stared at her, a flash of hurt crossing his eyes for a split second. “I’m sorry.”

“So many times, and I still come crawling back to you, over and over and over.” She kept her voice level, her face a stone wall. “You kill thousands, hurt me for fun, destroy our home, then turn around and say you love me?”

His eyes flicked away from the stone stare. “I admit, I could have gone about that differently.”

“Yeah, you could’ve.”

The silence fell again and, even though the Master was now taller than the Doctor, he had never felt so small next to her.

“I don’t get it, Kos. I thought I was getting through to you, then you run off with him and leave me to die?” She tried desperately to hold back her tears.

“I was going to come back, he shot me before I could.”

“And you couldn’t have led with that?!” She snapped. She clenched her fists harder, knuckles turning white, in a futile attempt to stop them shaking.

The Master flinched back. The Doctor had been holding her emotions in and he had just popped the cap off.

“I have given you so many chances, but it’s like you go out of your way to betray me.”

The Master felt nothing short of hopeless. “Please, Theta, I’ll be better, I promise.”

The Doctor tilted her chin up. “You said that before.”

He felt his eyes water and his knees get weak. He was losing her. He’d only just realised how much he needed her.

“Theta…” His voice broke and so did the rest of him. He sank to his knees as his tears flowed freely. “Please, you are… the reason I’m still here. My life is worth nothing without you in it and I know that now. You keep me grounded. I know I’d be so much worse if you weren’t there and I can’t lose you! I need you more than I thought, and I swear I’ll give it all I have if you help me.”

The Master, sobbing on his knees in front of the Doctor, begging forgiveness. Who would have thought?

The Doctor looked down at him. Silence fell over them again. They couldn’t even hear the hum of the TARDIS. It was like she was holding her breath.

She knelt in front of him, cupped his face and wiped his tears with her thumbs. He leaned into her touch.

They stayed like that for a while.

The Doctor sighed and stood up. She looked down at him again, this time with a look bordering on pity. “I don’t know.”

The Master hung his head and dragged himself to his feet. “Ok.”

“But,” His head snapped up to look at her. “I’ll help you, do what I can.”

A smile split his face as relief flooded him. He opened his mouth, but the Doctor held her hand up to silence him.

“But my trust is something you’ll have to work damn hard at to get back.”

“I understand.” He grabbed her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. “I promise.”

She looked at his hand around hers for a moment before snapping it back. She turned on her heel and walked towards the console.

The Master stood at the door. This wasn’t the outcome he was expecting, but it was one he could work with. He reached into his pocket and ran his thumb over the small, velvet box that hid there. He had never been so ready to work for something in all his life.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for low-key dying there, school has left me too traumatised to write but we're done with creative essays so hopefully ill get back into the swing of things soon.
> 
> anyway, idk if ill ever add on to this so if anyone wants to take it up and write something on it, feel free, even if i add something more, id love to see what others do with it.
> 
> sidenote, im still not over the masters reveal.


End file.
